So this is love — because Brandy and Paolo Montalban are officially returning to the Descendants franchise.
Entertainment Weekly has learned that the Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella alums are reuniting once more as Cinderella and King Charming for the fifth installment of the popular movie musicals about the next generation of Villain Kids, this time titled Descendants: Wicked Wonderland.
Also returning for the upcoming film are Rita Ora as the Queen of Hearts and Melanie Paxson as the Fairy Godmother. Paxson’s casting makes her the only actor to appear in all five Descendants movies.
Disney/Quantrell Colbert
Rita Ora in ‘Descendants: The Rise of Red’
The four returning cast members join previously announced Kylie Cantrall as the Queen of Hearts’ daughter Red, Malia Baker as Cinderella’s daughter Chloe, Liamani Segura as Red’s sister Pink, Brendon Tremblay as Maddox Hatter’s son Max, Alexandro Byrd as Luisa Madrigal’s son Luis, Kiara Romero as Captain Hook’s daughter Hazel Hook, Joel Oulette as Robin Hood’s son Robbie, Zavien Garrett as Dr. Facilier’s son Felix, Ryan McEwen and Dayton Paradis as Squirmy and Squeaky Smee Twins, and Leonardo Nam as the Mad Hatter’s son Maddox.
Descendants: Wicked Wonderland picks up immediately after the cliffhanger ending of last year’s Descendants: The Rise of Red, exploring what “happily ever after” really means for Red and Chloe following their adventures through time and messing with their parents’ shared history. Set primarily in present-day Wonderland with a host of new and familiar characters, the sequel delves into the warning at the end of the previous movie: There are consequences when you alter the fabric of time.
Bringing Brandy and Mantalban back together onscreen after their beloved reunion in last year’s Descendants movie is like giving fans their own Disney happy ending nearly three decades after their original versions premiered. Especially since that means there’s potential for another duet like their magical rendition of “So This Is Love.”
“I loved working with Paolo when I was younger, and working with him again has been amazing,” Brandy previously told EW of their royal reunion. “I was so excited to put on the dress, to put on the crown, to put on the blue hair. It was so amazing to do that and to get that feeling of, ‘Wow, this is the ’90s all over again.'”
“I feel the same way,” Montalban added. “In many ways, I consider Brandy to be my formative years’ leading lady, and she became the template of what I would look forward to in a leading lady. It’s like no time has passed at all working with Brandy. I liken it to ice dance partners or lifelong duos. You have so much trust and faith in each other that you have that ability to soar when you’re around them. And so thank you, Brandy, for letting me soar just because you were there with me.”
Descendants: The Rise of Red seemed to tie up all loose ends…until the very final moment, which teased that more trouble is brewing. After Red and Chloe were shocked to realize they had actually been sent back to the time when their parents were students at Auradon Prep, they met the teen versions of Cinderella, Charming, Queen of Hearts (who went by Bridget back then), and many other iconic Disney characters. There, they were able to figure out the moment that turned Bridget into the cold Queen of Hearts, clearing the way for her to have a good, totally not traumatic time at the Castlecoming dance.
Disney/Quantrell Colbert
Morgan Dudley, Ruby Rose Turner, Malia Baker, and Kylie Cantral in ‘Descendants: The Rise of Red’
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While Red was still worried that her mother would be a cold, ruthless villain when they returned to the present, she was delighted to discover the Queen of Hearts was now a loving, joyful ruler and mother, and she was no longer threatening to behead Cinderella. Red and Chloe changed history and saved their mothers, and all of Auradon Prep had a dance party to celebrate. But then Uma (China Anne McClain) warned in a voiceover that even though everyone got what they wanted, “getting what you want can be dangerous… especially when you mess with the fabric of time.”
“You didn’t think that was the end of the story, did you?” Uma said, her ominous laugh ending the movie.
Descendants: Wicked Wonderland is currently in production and slated for a 2026 release on Disney Channel and Disney+.
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